Marine Microbial Enzymes - An Overview

Abstract

The modern world is now focusing on environmental-friendly products, and, hence, many chemical processes are being replaced by enzymatic methods. In recent years, enzymes have attracted huge attention due to their potential industrial, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic applications in everyday life. The marine environment has been identified as a reservoir of important microorganisms having the potential to generate multifarious enzyme systems with novel applications. Marine microbial enzymes, in particular, attract special interest due to their distinct habitat-related properties that enable them to be active in extreme environments. Hence, marine microbial enzymes including proteases, lipases, collagenases, agarases, celluloses, and other enzymes can offer novel biocatalysts with extraordinary properties. This chapter discusses marine microbial enzymes, their properties, and their applications in different fields of human endeavors.